By Tim Dierkes | at
Tom Garfinkel has resigned as the Padres' president and CEO, according to a team press release. Executive chairman Ron Fowler will assume his responsibilities on an interim basis until a replacement is hired. Garfinkel's job involved overseeing the club's non-baseball operations.
Garfinkel followed Jeff Moorad from the Diamondbacks to the Padres in 2009. He was in the news in April after making an insensitive comment about Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke at a season ticket holder event.
By Tim Dierkes | at
The Cardinals are "considering a roster move before tonight’s game against Houston that could bring clarity to veteran Ty Wigginton’s role with the club and reshape the club’s bench," sources tell Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A minor league assignment for Wigginton is among a handful of options the club is exploring, writes Goold.
Wigginton, 35, signed a two-year, $5MM deal with the Cardinals in December. He's hitting .158/.238/.193 in 63 plate appearances, however, and playing time has been scarce. The Cardinals' bench consists of backup catcher Tony Cruz, plus Matt Adams, Daniel Descalso, Shane Robinson, and Wigginton.
By Tim Dierkes | at
The Giants have reached an agreement on a minor league deal with free agent outfielder Jeff Francoeur, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Royals had released the 29-year-old earlier this month.
Francoeur hit .208/.249/.322 in 193 plate appearances this month, following a down 2012 with an even worse campaign. Amid a resurgent 2011 season, the Royals signed Francoeur to a two-year, $13.5MM extension. They'll be on the hook for the $3.2MM or so remaining on his contract, less the pro-rated league minimum if Francoeur returns to the Majors. There is the expectation that he will join the big league team after getting some ABs and work in in left field, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Francoeur is represented by CSE.
A right-handed hitter, Francoeur hasn't done much damage against lefties since that 2011 season. The Giants still aren't risking much by giving him a shot to contribute in left field; Rosenthal says they figure to use him in a platoon with Andres Torres, with Gregor Blanco manning center field in the absence of the injured Angel Pagan.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Righty Matt Garza may have put the finishing touch on his Cubs career last night by allowing one run in seven innings in a win against the White Sox. The latest on the best available starter:
By Tim Dierkes | at
11:48pm: Garza tells reporters (including Gordon Wittenmyer) that there is a "50-50" chance he signs an extension. Garza helped his trade value even more tonight by allowing just one earned run over seven five-hit innings in the Cubs' 8-2 win over the White Sox.
3:15pm: Garza and the Cubs are not close on his value, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, and a trade is still the likeliest outcome. There are "no teeth" to the reported extension talks, adds Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, who tweets, "He'll be traded."
1:30pm: For the first time in more than a year, the Cubs are having discussions with Matt Garza about a long-term extension, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. A trade remains possible for the 29-year-old, who is perhaps the best available starter. A similar report comes from Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com, whose source says the sides haven't had serious discussions about a long-term deal but haven't ruled it out. The reports from Heyman and Rogers came within minutes of each other, though Heyman mentioned it first on MLB Network.
Garza has made nine starts this season since returning from a stress reaction in his elbow and a lat strain. The injuries ended his season last year on July 21st. This year, Garza has a 3.45 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.10 HR/9, and 37.8% groundball rate in 57 1/3 innings. He's allowed three earned runs in his last 30 innings. Garza takes on the White Sox tonight at U.S. Cellular Field.
Garza's value is difficult to peg, given his history of durability followed by the long layoff. Last offseason five starting pitchers received deals of three or more years, most of whom did not have draft pick compensation attached. A salary in the $13-15MM range seems appropriate for Garza, but from a team point of view it would be difficult to guarantee more than three years.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Of the six trades made during the first week of July, the Cubs were involved in four of them. The most recent trade occurred last night, as the Cubs shipped right-handed bench bat Scott Hairston to the Nationals for pitching prospect Ivan Pineyro. The Cubs are expected to continue stockpiling young players this month in more trades. The latest on the team:
By Tim Dierkes | at
3:49pm: Walters accepted the assignment to Rochester and will report tomorrow, tweets Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
1:35pm: Walters intends to accept the assignment, though the decision is not yet official.
11:00am: Righty P.J. Walters has cleared outright assignment waivers, MLBTR has learned. Having been outrighted previously in his career, Walters now has to decide whether to accept this assignment or elect free agency. Walters has until Wednesday to decide, and will likely do so before then.
Walters, 28, was designated for assignment Thursday upon the Twins' activation of Mike Pelfrey. A former 11th round draft pick by the Cardinals, Walters was traded to the Blue Jays in 2011 as part of the Colby Rasmus deal and later joined the Twins as a free agent. Walters made eight starts for the Twins this year, posting a 5.95 ERA, 5.0 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 1.14 HR/9, and 39.7% groundball rate in 39 1/3 innings. He was better at Triple-A, with a 3.31 ERA in nine starts. Prior to the 2011 season, Baseball America noted Walters' plus change-up helps him mask average velocity. At that time, they projected him for a long relief/swingman role.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Ken Rosenthal's latest column for FOX Sports begins with a look at the Phillies, Giants, Rockies, Padres, and Blue Jays, five teams currently on the bubble of buying and selling. The Padres have been eager to buy, rival executives tell Rosenthal. Other notes from the article:
By Tim Dierkes | at
The Mariners designated starter Jeremy Bonderman for assignment, according to a team press release. They also recalled lefty Lucas Luetge.
Bonderman, 30, had his contract purchased by the Mariners in June, at which point he made his first MLB start since October 2010. After 63 2/3 lackluster Triple-A innings, Bonderman posted a 4.93 ERA, 3.8 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 0.94 HR/9, and 42.5% groundball rate in seven starts for Seattle. Bonderman had elbow surgery in April 2012 and signed a minor league deal with his home-state Mariners in December of that year.
Bonderman was drafted 26th overall by the Athletics out of high school in '01, and was quickly traded to the Tigers as the player to be named later in the deal that sent Carlos Pena to Detroit, Ted Lilly to the Athletics, and Jeff Weaver to the Yankees. After just 27 minor league starts, Bonderman debuted for the Tigers in '03 at age 20. He had an upward trajectory until shoulder surgery derailed his career.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Multiple third basemen were involved in trades in July last year, as the Diamondbacks added Chris Johnson, the Rays picked up Ryan Roberts, and the Yankees traded for Casey McGehee. The Astros acquired current starter Matt Dominguez from the Marlins, who themselves added Zack Cox from the Cardinals later that month. The Cubs acquired a third base prospect as well, getting Christian Villanueva from the Rangers.
This year, contenders such as the Yankees, Dodgers, Indians, and Red Sox could be in the market for help at the hot corner. Here's a look at the potentially available players.
Starters
Chase Headley (Padres), Aramis Ramirez (Brewers), Michael Young (Phillies), Alberto Callaspo (Angels)
It's been made pretty clear by this point that the Padres don't intend to trade Headley, and would like to talk about an extension during or after the season. Still, it's hard to ignore the Padres dropping nine straight and Headley's solid play since the end of his abysmal June. GM Josh Byrnes would surely at least listen to offers this month, wouldn't he?
Ramirez, also one of last year's best offensive third basemen, does seem eminently available. There are three problems with that. One, he's 35 and may be slipping defensively, perhaps to the point where an AL team wouldn't expect or want him at the hot corner for all of next year. Two, he's under contract for 2014. That's not necessarily a problem until you see that he'll earn a $16MM salary plus a $4MM buyout on a mutual option, essentially making him a $20MM player next year (not counting a discount for deferred money). Ramirez has shown repeatedly that he can provide $20MM worth of value. However, bringing us to our third issue, he's slugging just .414 this year. That may be nothing more than a month-long slump, but the timing isn't great for the Brewers if they want to get out from the contract, get back solid young players, or both.
Young, in his first crack at the National League, has fared mildly better than in 2012. At this point the 36-year-old is a complementary offensive player with a poor defensive reputation and a good clubhouse reputation; a contender may pick him up mostly for that reason. Callaspo is a similar player in some ways, but he's signed through next year.
Backups
Cody Ransom (Cubs), Luis Valbuena (Cubs), Kevin Frandsen (Phillies), Placido Polanco (Marlins), Jamey Carroll (Twins)
The Cubs' third base platoon has been highly effective, as their .766 OPS at the position ranks fifth in the NL. Ransom can be under control next year as an arbitration eligible player, while Valbuena can be controlled through 2016. Add in strong part-time work from Frandsen, who is under control through 2015, and the trade market features backup options who have outplayed many regulars in limited samples.
Other Possibilities
Lonnie Chisenhall, Will Middlebrooks, and Mike Moustakas were once among the best third base prospects in baseball, but development has stalled on all of them. The Indians' Chisenhall, called back up on June 18th, has been playing well of late and seems the least likely to be included in a deal. In general, I don't picture the Indians, Red Sox, or Royals giving up on these players this summer.
Biogenesis Effects
Alex Rodriguez is tied to Biogenesis, and could theoretically be slapped with a suspension shortly after making his season debut. Regardless of Biogenesis, though, A-Rod's effectiveness and ability to stay on the field following January hip surgery is a huge question mark. The Yankees would be well-served to explore reinforcements at third base with Kevin Youkilis on the 60-day DL.
You can also check out our trade market posts for catchers, first basemen, second basemen, and shortstops.
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